Regional Advisor, Country Readiness Strengthening (CRS)

Contract

This is a P-5 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 10 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 172,512 USD and 216,197 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The mission of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme (The Programme) is to build the capacities of Member States to manage health emergency risks and, when national capacities are overwhelmed, to lead and coordinate the international response to contain outbreaks and to provide effective relief and recovery to affected populations. The Programme supports countries and coordinates international action, to prevent, prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and emergencies. The objectives of the Country Readiness Strengthening unit include the development and strengthening of core national capacities necessary to mitigate and respond to emergency risks and vulnerabilities. The unit prioritizes support to the most vulnerable and low-capacity countries.

The Country Readiness Strengthening Unit aims to support Member States to strengthen operational readiness for assessed imminent threats in prioritized settings with high vulnerabilities and low capacities towards minimizing the impact of the crisis or risk, and towards a sustained recovery.

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION

The purpose of the position is to act as the Head of the unit, coordinating a technical area of Country Readiness Strengthening within the Emergency Management and Preparedness (EMP) programme area focusing on the provision of technical policy and advice. The Regional Advisor is responsible to coordinate, manage and evaluate program activities within an assigned area of responsibility, in consultations with WHO country Offices, other UN and/or, international counterparts on program needs within the area of Country Readiness Strengthening and will create milestones on new policies and strategies to address regional needs.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Generic duties

• Provides technical leadership, coordination and managerial support within the Programme, ensuring that activities in the area of country readiness strengthening are carried out efficiently and effectively.
• Develops and proposes technical health policies and strategies for implementation through collaboration with Country Offices.
• Oversees a unit of technical teams specialized in various domains within their area of expertise and facilitates the efficient flow of team synergies.
• Manages the programme area in delivering its objectives through efficient managing a small team of technical staff, financial resources and effective work planning to optimize the programme’s deliverables in line with the mandate of the Organization.
• Leads and conducts research on best practices in implementing programmes and activities and dissemination of information for capacity building in the respective area of work.
• Manages the monitoring and evaluation and reporting of the subject area of work of key performance indicators and reporting requirements and mechanisms to optimize performance of Programme deliverables.
• Serves as the technical reference among the peer community, UN Agencies and other stakeholders at the technical levels in the respective area of expertise.
• Liaises with and utilizes partnerships in other UN Agencies, Donor, or research institutions in the country Readiness Strengthening to position the technical area of work and implementation into regional or national policies.
• Represent the programme area of work at various meetings to advocate for Country Readiness Strengthening
• Perform all other related duties as assigned.

Specific duties

• Contribute to the design and implementation of Preparedness Flagship initiatives
• Design and coordinate the work of health preparedness in humanitarian crisis/FCV settings
• Develop and adapt relevant guidance and tools on country readiness strengthening in countries and WHO offices
• Provide targeted support for readiness by developing a matrix for prioritization of countries, imminent threats and emergency readiness capacities
• Adapt a revised digital platform for preparedness/readiness where governments, UN agencies and partners can plan together in real time with transparency.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: An advanced university degree in medicine, or related field, and Master’s level qualifications in public health, epidemiology, infectious diseases, or emergency/disaster management.

Desirable: A PhD in one of the above-mentioned fields.

Experience

Essential: A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in the management of preparedness and response in health crises, pandemics and epidemics including experience in the area of health policies and strategies. Demonstrated experience in managing human and financial resources. Demonstrated experience in working at the international level.

Desirable: Post graduate studies or specialized training related to public health.

Skills

• Concrete skills in the planning and coordination of multidisciplinary public health programmes, which may include the implementation of a public health/disease control programmes;
• Strong skills in the area of developing and establishing polices and strategies;
• Excellent skills and ability in managing diverse teams and financial resources;
• Good skills in mobilizing resources;
• Ability to engage and communicate effectively and diplomatically with external partners including Ministries of Health, Donor institutions, Civil Society, and other stakeholders. Commitment to collaborate effectively with other key partners in the Health Subject area.
• Solid understanding of the overall intersectoral health emergencies response, readiness and preparedness including national planning, policies and priorities;
• In-depth knowledge of health emergencies planning and partner coordination, policies and practices within the UN, other UN specialized agencies, as well as donors and partners;
• Sound knowledge in the development of planning and capacity building web-based tools.

WHO Competencies

• Teamwork;
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences;
• Communication;
• Promoting innovation and organizational learning
• Creating an empowering and motivating environment;

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English. Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of French or another WHO language.

The above language requirements are interchangeable.

Other Skills (e.g. IT)

Strong presentation skills. Good skills in office packages, and ERP based systems.

REMUNERATION

WHO offers staff in the Professional Category an attractive remuneration package, which for the above position includes an annual net base salary starting at 90,664 US Dollars (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable). Other benefits include 30 days of annual leave, allowances for dependent family members, home leave, and an education grant for dependent children.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• This vacancy notice may be used to fill other similar positions at the same grade level

• Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.

• A written test may be used as a form of screening.

• In the event that your candidature is retained for an interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.

• Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to WHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and Manual.

• Staff members in other duty stations are encouraged to apply.

• For information on WHO's operations please visit: http://www.who.int.

• WHO is committed to workforce diversity.

• WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter into practice.

• WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of final candidates.

• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.

• WHO has a mobility policy which can be found at the following link: http://www.who.int/employment/en/. Candidates appointed to an international post with WHO are subject to mobility and may be assigned to any activity or duty station of the Organization throughout the world.

• Applications from women and from nationals of non and underrepresented Member States are particularly encouraged.

• *For WHO General Service staff who do not meet the minimum educational qualifications, please see e-Manual III.4.1, para 220.